Kaspersky: Crypto phishing attacks up by 40% in a year

The cybersecurity and anti-virus provider detected 5,040,520 crypto phishing attacks in 2022, up from 3,596,437 a year before

crypto wallet scam

Because it doesn’t require much technical expertise, phishing is getting increasingly popular, with the number of such attacks growing from one year to another.

According to cybersecurity and anti-virus provider Kaspersky, the number of cryptocurrency-related phishing attacks experienced a 40% year-on-year growth in 2022. In total, the company detected 5,040,520 crypto phishing attacks in the year, compared to 3,596,437 in 2021.

Such attacks typically involve contacting individual investors via fake websites and communication channels that mimic the official companies. Users are prompted to share personal information, including their private crypto keys, which ultimately provides attackers with unwarranted access to their crypto wallets.

From where we sit, it is unlikely that these attacks will drop this year. In fact, in March – hardware crypto wallet maker Trezor issued a warning against attempts to steal users’ crypto by tricking users into entering their recovery phrase on a fake Trezor site. If successful, such attacks could wipe the users’ crypto wallets in mere seconds.

Back to Kaspersky, which survey from last year has found that one out of seven respondents admitted to being affected by cryptocurrency phishing. While phishing attacks predominantly involve giveaway scams or fake wallet phishing pages, attackers continue to evolve their strategies.

The cybersecurity firm says that “crypto still remains a symbol of getting rich quick with minimal effort,” a fact that attracts scammers to innovate their techniques and stories to lure in unwary users.

To that end, we always suggest rethinking before clicking on anything online. And the same goes for leaving your email address and/or phone number on websites across the Internet. Those details typically serve as entry points for any phishing campaign.

Also, make sure to re-read our previous articles on phishing:

And a bonus read: 10 Habits To Keep You Safe Online

Stay safe!